Megan Piper Elected President of Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco

UW-CTRI Associate Director of Research Dr. Megan Piper has been elected president of the national Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT) by its 1500 members.

Piper said she is “honored to follow in the line of past presidents.” Piper has served on the board of SRNT for six years as the elected treasurer-secretary. She’ll officially become president-elect at the SRNT annual conference in March in New Orleans. For the following 12 months, she’ll continue as a voting board member, but will serve as president-elect by shadowing the 2020 SRNT president, Dr. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin from Yale.

Together, they’ll visit funders (including the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration) as well as non-government partners (such as the TRUTH Initiative and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids) to promote tobacco-related scientific findings and exchange ideas.

Piper will become 2021 SRNT president in February 2021 at the SRNT Annual Meeting in Baltimore and serve in that role for 12 months. As president, in addition to the duties listed above, she’ll guide initiatives, address member concerns, train the next president-elect, and create the presidential symposium at the 2022 annual meeting (by picking a topic and bringing in speakers).

“I’m excited to take on this role,” Piper said. “We’re dealing with an unprecedented number of new tobacco products, and it emphasizes the importance of tobacco research so that we know how best to deal with them. I’m eager to help SRNT focus on tobacco science, including how to promote it and communicate it. SRNT provides a variety of forums and opportunities, allowing tobacco scientists from all disciplines to come together to share knowledge and address critical public health challenges.”

Piper pointed out that members who took the SRNT 2025 survey highlighted key areas for growth, including a stronger commitment to training scientists and expanding engagement among scientists across the globe, especially those in low- and middle-income countries. “The initial development of SRNT University is an excellent example of how SRNT has addressed training and global reach goals,” Piper said.

UW-CTRI Director of Research Dr. Tim Baker said the honor is well deserved. “Megan has spent her entire career at UW-CTRI, first as my graduate student, then a newly minted Ph.D., and now a major force in the field of tobacco science and intervention. (Therefore, we at UW-CTRI would love to take credit for some of her success—2%?) She is creative and incredibly effective, not only at scientific work, but also at marshaling people and resources to successfully address major problems or goals. These qualities augur well for her success as SRNT President—and this is widely recognized by her scientific colleagues.  I am not at all surprised that Megan has risen to such heights; this is well deserved recognition of her status, the respect of her colleagues, and her accomplishments—well done Megan!”

UW-CTRI Director Dr. Michael Fiore commended Piper on this milestone. “Dr. Piper has been a leader in tobacco control for years, and we are elated to see her expand on it by becoming the first from UW-CTRI to serve as SRNT president. We applaud all her efforts to help researchers grow, the field advance, and patients break free from nicotine addiction.”